My Dream Camera

Mind you, it has fixed focus and automatic exposure. Nothing fancy compared to the then analogue SLR. Obviously you can't even compare with the features that you would get with 2011 DSLR.

But it was my dream camera. In the 80s, that is. I guess life then in the 80s was much simpler, and you don't need things too fanciful.

But then, this was quite a fancy (and fantasy) camera, as you would be enjoying your photographs in 3-D and you don't even need your (3D) glasses.

I would consider myself to be a camera buff then. I guess, I was reasonably well off with my money then; enough scholarship to last me the whole year. To divert me from my daily stresses, I would turn to photography.

Other than cricket in the summer, that is.

NIMSLO 3D camera caught my attention then with its ability to take 3D pictures, ala those postcard pictures that you would get to see especially from those returning from their Haj. You would try to view the pictures at the slight angle to see if you could see what's behind the objects in the picture. IT gives you a 3D perspective in 2D pictures, much better than some 3D television that you could buy at your favourite electrical store nowadays.

This was better than watching the Aussie gals in bikini during summer, to be honest! ;-)

The four lenses would allow it to take pictures at (slightly) different angles, simultaneously. The pictures definitely have depth. Read more about the Nimslo 3D here.

The idea of 3D photography appealed to me quite a bit then, but unfortunately - or unfortunately, depending on the perspective, I was waiting for it to flood the market before I would buy it, and history has it that it never caught on with the consumers.

Even with the high cost of printing, I thought it was worth it.

But I guess, like VHS tapes, and everything electronics, the consumers plays a very big role and say on what's get to be hot and what's not. IN the end, the Nimslo died a natural death.

I am not sure if we would get our DSLR 3D camera anytime soon.

If I had bought one, it would be antique by now. I am sure not many, even those from the 80s would remember the NIMSLO. One of my good friend Tjipto somehow remembered this when I mentioned it to him more than a decade ago. "Oh, you know about the Nimslo," I remarked. "You must be about my age then!"

Unlike me, he owns one.

In my case, the only legacy I have from the 80s would be my old and trusted OM10. A conventional SLR.

The black OM10. It was so beautiful then, and had served me well over a decade.